Delivery apparatus.



P. HEMPBL.

DELIVERY APPARATUS,-

APPLIGATION FILED .TAN.16, 1913.

Patented July 8, 1913.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

' P. HEMPEL. DELIVERY APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 16, 1913.

Patented July 8, 1913.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

' RICHARD RUE 31%.. W, i T: 17

8 wuewtoz 43 Paw 11979722 582 atfoznea a P. HEMPEL.

DELIVERY APPARATUS. APPLIGATION P'ILED JAN. 16, 1913.

Patgnted July 8, 1913.

s SHEETS-SHEET s.-

q vdmeooeo Q; a I

designed.

3 is air-irregular verticalcross sectional View taken-on the line 3-3 of Fig.2;F1g. t is a I vertical cross sectional View taken on the way; Figzsfi is amend-view of one of the tion on the apparatus; Fig. 8 is a side view PAULHEMPEL, 0F PARKSTON. SOUTH DELIVERY ereanerros.

To (ZZZ whom, z'tmay concern. 1 I

Beit known that I, 1PAUL Hem e. citi zen of the. United States, residing etlPerksr" ton, in the county of Hutchinsen-end' State of Sonth'Dakot-m have inventerl certain'new' and useful Improvements in {Delivery Ap paratus'; and-I dodeelare thefollowing -to,- he a full, clear, and exact-description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to ineke and use the same.

This invention relates to iniprovements' in, delivery apparatus and perticularlyto ap paratus for deliveringsnail-in rural districts from a post read to'ihdividuajl residences-lo rated at. a greater or-iless distance from the road.

One objectof the invention is to provide an'npparatus of this-character having an improved construction of track bar for-span ning a gateway or othet opening in a fence which carries the track cable. 4 r

A further'objeet is to prov-idea rural mail delivery apparatus which will be simple strong,- durable andinexpemsive' in eonstruo tion, efiicient and reliable in operatifin and well'adapted to the purpose for which it is VVith' these and other: objects in' view; the j invention consists of certain' n'ovel features of construction, and thefeombination and amrangement of parts as will be-inore fullydescribed anrlclaimed. f

In-the accompanying! drawings: Figural is a perspective iew of my improved deliveryapparatus;-Fig.*=2 is an enlarged side 'VlGW of a car and a portion of the supportingand trolley wiresrof the apparatus; Fig.

Unea -4 of Fig. 2.; JFig. 5 is a detail side View of the end-of one section of the apparatus and -the beginning of another section illustrating in. do-ttecl' lines the manner I in 'whieh the connection between the supportlug-cable of the car-is made across a gate sections of the appazr atus shown in Fig. 5; Fig. 7 is an enlarged VleW of thewperts shown in Fig. 6 and of'the end of the .car -1n pos1- Specification of Letters-Patent Applieation fi1eiiUanimryr16;19t3.- s riai it smanaee partlyinseotion of'the'encl of the section shown in Fig. 7 Witli'the car olhittecl; Fig".

.9 is an enlarged plan View of theend of the apparatus shown in Figs. 7 and 8; Fig-.10

1s ail-enlarged side View partly in section of the means for tastenlngtheend of the track or supporting Wire to the Wire supporting bracket of the end post; Fig": 1.1. is a vertical cross section thereof taken on the line 11- ll oi Fig. 10; Fig. 12 is an enlarged detail View of the iu per-endof (7.1 f intermediate supporting posts of th apparatus showing the construction 11ml arrangement of the brackets for holdingthe traek anol tho trolley Wires ofthe apparatus"; Fig; 13 is a top plan view ofthe pastsshewn in Fif 12;

Fig. Miss a tletail side Vlfifv?"0f one OI the supporting hrhcketsfor the trolley Wires of the apparatus; Fig. 15 is a plan View of the meanslor supporting andguiding the trolley Wiresofthe apparatus at turns or bends'in the line;-Fig. 16 is an -end View shown in 15; Fig. '17 a diagnunmatie view' of the mechanism by means of which an alarnror signal is operated when the car-teaches the end of one section of the apparatus:*

- As. shown in Fig.1 of the drawings my improved delivery apparatus-is designed particularly for corweying; mail "or other matter tfrorna postieoad to one or more residences loeateil at greater or less distance apart anel at a distance from the road. The app. etus, as will also be seen from Fig. 1 of the drawings comprises a. number of sections one of which extends from the marl-to the nearest residence thereto and the others of which extend between. he residenves with which theeppa-ratus 18 connected. Each of the sections of the apparatus eom prises end posts 1 and-2 which are'locaterl respectively at the beginning-anti ends-i the section and.

a seriesof intermediateposts 3 which are located at suitable tlistance apart between the enrl postsrl and 2. The posts of the ap.- paratus may if desired also serve as the supporting'postsfor a fence and are so shown in the present instance. The end posts 1 anal 2 at theheginning and end ofthe section are preferably skeleton strnvtnres coretnisinglf anllle iron corner have 4 cont-we ed their upperends by rel-1 ungulariirames of the partsframes (3.

5 and near their lower ends by similar The lower ends of the bars at are planted a; suitable distance in the ground and are anchored in suitable bases 7 of concrete or other material.

braced by inclined brace bars 8.

Secured to the. upper ends of the posts 1 and 2 are laterally extending cable supporting brackets 9 carrying angle iron bars 10. To the bars 10 are bolted or otherwise rigidly secured wire fastening blocks 11 the upper edges of the inner ends of which are prm'ided with short longitudinal grooves 12 to receive the ends of the track cables 13.

tions of the opposite sides of the blocks are tapered inwardly toward the upper edges thereof and said upperedges of the blocks are rounded to correspond with the curvature of the upper portion of the track cables, the ends-of which when engaged with the grooves 12 are flush with the upper edges of the blocks as shown in Fig. 10 so that the supporting Wheels of the car will run smoothly from the cable onto the bar. The outer. ends of the blocks 11 at one side of the gateway are beveled or undercut on an angle as shown at 15, whereas the ends of the blocks at the other side thereof are beveled on their upper sides as at 15 for a purpose hereinafter described.

Secured to one arm of the brackets 9 are upwardly. extending "trolley supporting brackets 16 which are in the form of upright bars having their upper ends curved outcurely fastened to the brackets. I to the brackets ofpreferably-every other wardly and downwardly as shown.

cured to the downwardly curved ends of the brackets 16 are cross arms 17 to the ends of'which are secured hangers or insulators 18 to which are connected the trolley wires 19 of the apparatus.

Theinterinediate posts Slof the apparatus have secured to their upper ends cable supporting brackets 20,in the form of right angular bars which are suitably braced and are fastened at their lower ends to the posts by screws or other. suitable fastening devices and at their upper ends are fastened to the posts by clips 21. On the outer ends of the brackets 20 are wire fastening clips 22 by means of which the track cable is scone of the intermediate post-s3 is atrolley Jsppporting bracket23 which is provided with a cross arm 24 and is otherwise con- The bars 4 are also Secured structed in the saineinanner as the trolley supporting bracket 16 of the end posts. The

trolley wires 19 are insulated for a considerable distance from the supporting brackets on the end posts as shown at- 2-5 so that when the car reaches the insulated portions of the trolley wires the electric current to the motor of the car will be cut oft-and further movement of the car will be caused only by the momentum the latter a stop at the end of the section. At points in the apparatus where it ishas 0bta1ned,and the car will thus come to necessary to make a turn the trolley wires are preferably engaged with and supported by curved plates 26 which are spaced apart and secured at their upper edges of the opposite sides of a curved block'27 and which have their lower edges turned upwardly to form grooves 28 to receive the trolley wires as is clearly shown in Figs. 15 and 16 of the drawings. The spacing block 27 to which the plates 26 are secured,

is formed of wood orother suitable nonconducting material and said block is supported in position at the turn or curve in the apparatus by bail shaped hangers 29 I one end of which is secured to the upper side of the block and the other ends of which.

are secured to a bar 30 arranged on the upper end of the post 31 at @the corner around which the turn in the air nratus is formed as clearly shown in l igst l fi and 16 of the drawings. f

\Vhen the end of one section of the-appa-- ratus and the beginning of another section are disposed on op; :ite sides of a gate- J way as shown 1n 1* ig.-:.. 1 and 5 of the drawings, provision is made to bridge the space.

between the end posts of'th'e sections by means of a track bar 32 which is preferably of angle iron construction and is fixedly mounted at -one end on the end of a. rock shaft 33 which is pivotally mounted in brackets projecting from the frame 5 at the upper end of the posts 2- at the end of one section of the apparatus. ..The track bar 32is secured to the opposite end of the rock shaft and is held rigid by a diagonal brace bar 35, the outer end of which is extended beyond the end of the rock shaft and forms a crank arm 36. To the outer end of the arm is adjustabl 37 whereby the track is r is automatically swung upwardly and held in an inoperativeposition as clearly shown in full lines in Figs. 5 and 6 of the drawings. WVhen' 1t isdesired to shift the car from the endof one section across the gateway to (the beginning of the other section the track bar 32' is swung downwardly tothe position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5 of the drawings.

secured a weight The ends of the track bar when thus swung down will register with-the-outerends of the blocks 11 to which the ends of the track neonate cable -13 are secin'ed and the ends of the 't'ti'i fifl in one side of the motor comparttraclt bur are oppositely beveled at 32 met and provided with a. handle 58 which and 32 to match and closely lit the beveled ends and 15' of the blocks ii. The engaging beveled ends of the blocks 11 and track bar torin stops which limit the downward movement of the bar and also form on even joint between the ends of the truck her and the cable fastening blocks to permit the car to travel smoothly across the trecl: her from the end of one section of the apparatus to the beginning of the nextsection.

Adapted to travel on the track cable 13 iso. delivery our 88 which is preferably in the :t'orin oi" sheet metal box having tIIlOtOl :oinpartinent 39 and any suitable number of ineil or package receiving compartments -H). the our in this instance being shown having two mail or pecltege receiving (:0111' pertments one of which is arranged at each end of the car as shown. The compartments eh i closed by suitably fastened doors on w .ch are placed nemesof the parties to whom the mail or .peclcet cs in the respective coi'i'uigurtiner ere eddre ed.

The supporting niech insu for the cor comprises brackets ell and 4. 2 in, which are reyclubly mounted pulley shefts 43 and 4%.,

Fixed on the shutt- 43 is a driving and supporting; pulley $5 in the grooved periphery of wt ch is arranged it bend or annular strip {to of rubber or other suitable material whereby the pulley may obtain a firm grip on the truck cable 13. fixed at supporting pulley to having a plain grooved periphery which engages the track cable 1.3 and supports the end of the car to which the supporting brocket 42 is secured.

Also fixed on thcshat't 43 is a. sprocket gear 4-8 which is connected by e sprocket chain 49 to a sprocket pinion 5t) fixed on the drive shaft of an electric motor 51 which is urrunged in, the motorcompartment 39 of the car and which may be of any suiteble'constreet-ion. The drive chain 49 eXtends up werdly from the motor through a suitable puss-age formed in the box or cur as indiceted in dotted lines in Fig. 2 of the drawblecured to and projecting upwardly from the bracket ll. of the pulley ibis a trolley wheel supporting bur which is preferably rectangular and has slideoly mounted there on .1v cross arm 53 on the ends of which are secured bearing brackets 5% in which are rev-- olubl v mounted trolley wheels 55,. said wheels being adapted to engagethe trolley wires wherein )red ed. The brack- T: .L end, have "dectrieeliy cone terminals or outer ends of current conducts ing wires 56 winch-extend downwardly into the mail our and are sui ably connected withmotor reverstsig switch 5? an U11 the shaft =14. is-

ss arm 53' we: is through curved slot in one side of the motor compartmentas clearly shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings. The switch 57 is connected by current conducting wires 60 to the commutatorbrushes of the motor 51 whereby the current passing through the trolley Wires is conveyed to the motor and the latter tl'iereby operated. Tll'lDOVGlllGllb of the motor when thus driven is imparted through the drive chain 49 to the shaft 4-3 and through the latter to the driving and supportingpulley 45 whereby the latter is driicn in the proper direction for propelling the cartoward or from the post road or outer end of the apparatus according to the position of the reversing switch 57 as will be readily understood. The trolleywheels are held up in yielding engagement with the trolley wires by a coiled spring 61 which is arranged on the bar 52 below the cross arms '53 and exerts an upward pressure on said her and the trolley Wheels mounted thereon thus holdii'ig said Wheels in operative engagement; with the trolley wires. By thus arranging the motor and reversing switchit will be seen. that when the car has reached one or the other ofthe ends of the apparatus and it is desired to send the car back in the opposite direction it-is simply'necessary to reverse the position of the switch and to start the car in the desired direction.

By reference to 1 1g. 5 of the drawings it will be seen that the ends of the trolley Wires of one section are electrically connected to the ends of the trolley wires of the next secation by current conducting wires 19 which extend down the end posts of the sections and through it conduit (36 arranged across the gateway and below the surface of the ground. The trolley wires are supplied with electric current by strong storage butteries 67 which are stored in wn ten tifiht receptacles 68, disposed in certain of the vend posts of the sections. as clearly shown in Fig. 8 of the drawings.

In cr tter to' notify the occupants of the houses locu ted at the ends of the sections of the eppzn'atus that the nit-til car has reached their end of the separates, I provide an electrically o erated signal (32 which may be of any suitable construction and arranged at any desired location in or near the house. The signals 82- nre arranged in electric circuits 62-} in which are also arranged circuit closers tE-it one of which is disposed at the endot' one section and the other of which is arranged at the begim'iing of the next sec-.

tion, said circuit closers being connected by" branch wires as shown in diagram in Fig.17. Y I v The circuit closers may be of any suit able construction but ere here shown and preteruhly consist of spring contact, fingers the cable supporting bracket and the free end of which projects above the contact fingers 69 and has secured to its under slde an insulated finger engaging knob 71. lVhen thus arranged it Wlll be seen that the 01r- .cuit closing plates and 'the contact fingers "69 beneath the same are located in thepathof movement of the supporting and operating pulleys of the car so that when the latter is traveling in either direction and reaches the end oi the section one or J the other of the pulleys will ride over the circuit closing plates 70thus forcing-the latter downwardly and causing the knobs7l thereon to engage and bring the contact fingers (39 together thus completing the circuit to the signal which will indicate to the occupant of the residence that the mail car has reached his end of theapparatus. The

occupant of the residence when thus notilied is supposed to go out and remove the mail matter directedto him from his compartment of the mail car, if any mail has been placed therein, and to -manually shift the car acrossthe gatewayog' from the end of one section to the adjacent end-of the next section as hereinbefore described. When the car has reached the end of the apparatus or the last residence the occupant of this residence is supposed to reverse the motor after removing his mail from the car and placing any mail therein that he may have for collection. After reversing the motor the car will be started on its return trip and will travel until reaching the end of this section where an alarm will be sounded in the manner'des'cribed and the occupant at this point notified of the arrival of the car, so that hemay place any mail he may have for collection in the car and start the same on the next section which operation is repeated until the car reaches the road or beginning of the apparatus.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the construction and operation of the invention will be readily understood without requiring a more extended explanation. Various changes in the form, proportion and the minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from'the -principle or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention as claimed.

Having thus described my inventiomwhat I claim is: I

1. In a delivery apparatus of the char acter described, the combination with an elevated track cableleading from a public post ' highway past an intermediate station to a station remote from said highway and interrupted at the intermediate station, and a movable-track bar capable of closing the gap produced'by said interruptiomof trolley wires paralleling said cable and interrupted at the same.point, means for feeding a currentto said wires,a car having pulleys traveling on said track and contacts engaging said trolley wires, and an electric motor-in the car fed from said contacts and connected with said pulleys.

acter described, the combination with a fence leading from a public highway and in posite sides, brackets mounted on the fence posts, a track cable carried by ysaid brackets and interrupted at the gateway, and a track bann'i'ojably mounted on one gate post said interruptiOn;"0f a superim osed trolley wire carried bythe same brac ets and interrupted opposite the gate, means for feeding a current to said wire, a car having pulleys traveling on said track and a trolley wheel contacting with said wire,and an elecnected with one of said pulleys.

3. In a delivery apparatus of the character described, the combination with a fence leading from a public highway and inter rupted by a gateway, said'fence inchiding 1 posts at opposite sides of said interruption; of a track made in sections terminating with such gate-posts and consisting of cables, brackets rising from all the posts and supporting the cable-sections, an angle-iron bar carried by the bracket on the gator post, blocks carried by said bars at opposite sides ing undercut and the inner end of-theother track bar oppositely beveled at opposite ends and of a length to engage the bevels of said block when the bar stands horizontal, and a one of the gate-posts.

4. In a delivery apparatus of the character described, the combination with a fence rupted by a gateway, said fence including posts at opposite sides of said interruption; or a track made in sections termmating with bracketsrisingfrom all the posts and supporting the cable-sections, an angle-iron bar carried by the bracket on the gate post, blocks carried by said bars at opposite sides of the gate, the inner end of one block being undercut and the inner end ofthe other shaft journaled across one post,a track bar rising from one end of the rock shaft and itself oppositely beveled at its opposite ends 2. In a delivery apparatus of the char terrupted by a gateway having posts at opand adapted. to span thegap prdduced by:

tric motor fed by said trolley wheel and con of the gate, the inner end of one ,block be block being beveled on its upper side and a such gate-posts and consisting. of cables,-

block being beveled on its upper side, a rock pivotal support between said track bar and leading from a public highway and inter,

as MS d 0:2 2% Eel 1 th .to en age the 'hm'eieti inner m hand in resenca of two subscribin wit 7 6 t3 1 a lr b '01? sal blfi'cli, a brace eizitendmg irom nesses.

t: k bar across [1110 other em! of said I ispendlngthereirom,andawezght i an the iower end of tins brace, for the purmm HEMPEL.

Vvitnesses W. H. SHAW, JAMES STEICHEN 110% set fsrth.

In tesi-lmany whereof i have hereunto sei;

fiapies of this patent may be obtained for five cents eash, by addmssing the (10113211551036! f IEatents,

. "Washington, I), C. 

